Hamlet

212 N O T E S 3.4.

it was my word (Q 2) F 1 ''twas my word.'
37. damnid custom Cf. 11. 161-70 below.
38. sense = feeling, sensibility. Cf. 11. 7 r-81 below.
40. Such an act etc. The 'act' is not named, but
what follows suggests that Ham. has both adultery and
incest in mind; cf. note 1.5. 42-57.
43. forehead Cf. 4. 5. 118-20. It was a common
idea that the character was written on the brow (cf. Ado,
3. 5.12 'honest as the skin between his brows,' Meas.
4. 2. 152-53), which is perhaps why malefactors and
harlots were branded on the forehead; hence 'blister'
(1. 44). For 'rose' v. G.
46-7. from the body.. .soul i.e. by desecrating the
most solemn type of agreement, that of marriage, it
reduces all human contractual relations to empty form.
The same thought is expressed in 'and sweet religion...
words.'
49-51.* Andthls.. .theact £>2'Orethis. • .theact,'
F i 'Yea this.. .masse With tristful visage.. .the act.'
Most edd. follow F I which may give us Sh.'s own emen-
dation; I attempt to restore his original text. Cf. note
I. 3.74and MSH. p. 327. The 'compound mass' Itake
to be the moon to which Ham. points (cf. note 1.4-68
and 3. 2. 378). He is referring to some contemporary
lunar eclipse; v. note T.I. 122-25, and cf. 'as against the
doom is thought-sick' with 'sick almost to doomsday
with eclipse' (1. I. 125).
53.* upon this... and on this LI. 5 8-9 indicate full-
length portraits, and in Der bestrafte Brudermord they
are referred to as in a 'gallery.' Cf. SLEng. ii. 11.
56. Hyperion's curls Cf. 1. 2. 140.
Jove himself Cf. 3. 2. 283.
59. New-lighted'.. .hill Malone suggests derivation
from Aen. iv. 246 ff., the description of Mercury
alighting upon Atlas, whence Par. Lost, v. 285-87 is
certainly drawn.
64-5. a mildewedear... brother Blasting and mildew

3.4. N O T E S 213

are often associated in Biblical references to corn; cf.
I Kings viii. 37; Amos iv. 9; Haggai ii. 17.

67.* moor Q2 'Moor.' Prob. a quibble upon
'blackamoor' which to Elizabethans typified the physic-
ally repulsive.

71-6. Sense sure., .difference F i omits. MSH.
pp. 28, 167. For 'sense,' 'motion,' 'ecstasy,' v. G. 'In
11. 71—2 the emotional aspect of the word (sense) is
prominent, in 11. 72-3 the intellectual' (Herford).

74—6. Nor sense.. .difference i.e. Feeling (or sen-
sation) has never been so dominated by the delusions of
madness that it did not retain some small portion of dis-
crimination, enough at any rate to see the gulf that divides
these two men.

78-81. Eyes.. .mope F i omits. MSH. pp. 28,167.
88. reason pandars will Cf. V.A. 792 'When reason
is the bawd to lust's abuse.'
92. enseamid v. G. and Introd. p. xxxviii.
95. like daggers Cf. 3. 2. 399 ' I will speak daggers
to her.'
99-101. A cutpurse.. .pocket A clear indication
that Ham. thinks of the K. as a usurper; cf. 5. 2. 65 and
Introd. pp. liii-liv. 'He stole the crown "from a shelf"
like a petty thief, and h'ad not even the courage to take
it by violence' (Clar. after Warburton),

102. of shreds andpatches Referring to the motley of
the 'vice' (v. G.) or clown.

S.D.* I adopt the S.D. from Q r , which almost
certainly informs us of what took place on Sh.'s stage.
'Night-gown' = dressing-gown (cf. Macb. 2. 2. 70),
appropriate to the Queen's bedroom as the armour was
to the battlements. Cf. 1. 135 'in his habit as he lived/

103-104. Save me.. .guards! Cf. I. 4. 39 'Angels
and ministers of grace defend us!'

107. lapsed in time and passion Hitherto unex-
plained, because it has been forgotten that 'time' in,
Sh. often means 'circumstance, the conditions of the

214 N O T E S 3.4.

moment' (cf. 4. 7. 110-13 'love is begun by time' and
148 'convenience both of time and means'). Further,
'lapsed' (v. G.) in the only other place Sh. uses it (Tw.
Nt. 3. 3. 36) means 'arrested' or 'taken prisoner.' Thus
Ham. describes himself as 'the prisoner of circumstance
and of passion,' repeating 'passion's slave' of 3. 2. 70,
and referring to thosefitsof morbid excitement which so
often take possession of him. Cf. Introd. p. lxiv and
notes 3. 1. 137-52; 3. 4. 180; 5. 1. 278; 5. 2. 230.
Schmidt, also citing Tw. Nt. 3.3.36, interprets the whole
passage: 'who, surprised by you in a time and passion
fit for the execution of your command, lets them go

108. important ~ urgent. A significant admission;
cf. note 3. 2. 372-73.

I I O - I I . this visitation Is but to whet etc. i.e. the
only purpose of my appearing is to whet etc. (v. Introd.
p. lxi). His appeal on behalf of the Queen is an after-
thought, due to the pitiable state in which he finds her.

120-22. as the sleeping.. .stand an end The hairs
are compared with soldiers who leap from their beds at
the alarm and stand stiff and erect for action.

121. hairs (Rowe) £>2, F i 'haire.' M S H . p . 300.
125-28. how pale he glares. ..this piteous action
Ham.'s words suggest that he sees some strange agitation
in the Ghost's face and actions; v. note 1. 132.
126-27. preaching to stones.. .capable, v. Luke xix.
40; 'capable' (v. G.) implies softening.
129. effects = outward symptoms (of my stern pur-
pose), v. G.
132. Nothing at all Bradley (p. 140) believes that
the Ghost remains invisible and inaudible to the Queen
in order to spare her. A more plausible reason is fur-
nished by Der bestrafte Brudermord, viz. that she is 'no
longer worthy to look on his form,' (v. Furness, ii.
133); and since in Heywood's Iron Age (Pt. ii) Act 5,
Scene 1, Orestes takes Clytemnestra's blindness to

3.4. NOTES 3i?

Agamemnon's ghost as evidence of her guilt, the notion
seems to have been a common one at the period.
I suggest that the 'piteous action' Ham. speaks of is one
of hands outstretched in supplication to Gertrude and
that the Ghost's agitation conveys, first his amazement
that she cannot see or hear him, and then his horror as
he realises the cause. It is only after she has declared
herself completely insensible of his presence that he
'steals away' in shame.

145. unction v. G.
152-53. Forgive me this my virtue.. .times i.e. For-
give the sermon; this degenerate age is so morally flabby
that etc. Both 'fatness' and 'pursy' = out of condition
physically, v. G.
155. curb and woo 'bend and truckle'(Johnson).
161-65. That monster... •put on F i omits. MSH.
pp. 28-9, 167.
162. Of habits evil (Theobald aft. Thirlby) £>2'Of
habits deuill.' The misprint would be easy (v. MSH.
pp. 320—1), especially as the compositor, like all edd. since
Johnson, may have been misled by a supposed antithesis
between 'devil' and 'angel,'whereas Sh.intends, I think,
to contrast 'monster' with 'angel' and 'habits evil' with
'actions fair and good.'

164. frock or livery Two sorts of uniform: 'frock'
of a monk, suggesting religion, and 'livery' of a servant,
suggesting duty. The image springs from' assume' (v. G.)
and 'habits' (in a quibbling sense) just before.

167-70. the next...potency F i omits. MSH.
pp. 28-9, 167.

169. And either.. .the devil Q2 'And either the
deuill.' The compositor has prob. as so often elsewhere
omitted a word. It is conceivable, on the other hand,
that 'either' (sp. 'eyther') may be a misprint or mis-
correction of 'exorcise,' a word which suits the context
and must come near Sh.'s meaning. For want ofa better,
itmay serve tofillthe gap in the text. MSH. pp. 302-3.

Q.H.-I8

2i6 N O T E S 3-4.

171. desirous to be blessed i.e. truly repentant, and
so, ready for Heaven's blessing.

174. To punish me with this Cf. 1. 21 r 'This man
shall set me packing.' The death ofPol. has placed Ham.
within the power of the K.

175. their scourge and minister i.e. at once the officer
of Heaven's justice and the lash he wields. A reference
to the publicfloggingof criminals; cf. note 3. 1. 70 and
Matth. v. 25 (Bishops' Bible, 1572) 'Least.. .the iudge
deliuer thee to the minister.' Ham. is a 'fell sergeant'
(5. 2.334) for the arrest of Pol., but with a 'scourge' for
his own back. Heaven is plur., as often in Sh.

178-79. I must be.. .behind The couplet sums up
the scene: the first line referring to his treatment of the
Queen, the second to the death of Pol.

179. This bad(Q2) F1'Thus bad'—which all edd.
read. But 'This,' i.e. the corpse (cf.l. 174), makes sense
of the couplet, which has hitherto eluded explanation.
In 'worse remains behind' Ham. expresses his fears of
what may come of his rash act (cf. note 1. 174 above),
and these fears lead on naturally to the lines that follow.
MSH. p. 275.

180. One word more, good lady Cf. Introd. p. Ixiii.
190. paddock. ..bat., .gib The toad, the bat and
the tom-cat—all forms assumed by spirits attendant on
witches (Clar.).

191. dear concernings i.e. 'matters that concern him
so closely' (Verity), v. G. 'dear.'

194. the famous ape The story is lost, but Ham.
makes the outline clear; the ape carries a cage of birds
to the top of a house, releases them by accident, and,
surprised at their flight, imagines he can also fly by
first creeping into the cage and then leaping out. The
point for the Queen is the publicity of the proceeding
('on the house's top' = in full view of everyone), and
that letting the cat out of the bag will involve her own
destruction. For'try conclusions' v. G.andM. ofV. 2.
2.34.

3.4. N O T E S 217

200. / must to England Ham.'s knowledge of this
has puzzled critics; but the K. had decided on the
mission (for the sake of Ham.'s health) before the Play-
scene (v. note 3.1.172-78), and Ham. would naturally
be informed of the royal pleasure in order that due
preparations might be made. Moreover, Ham.'s words
in 11. 204-205 imply that Ros. and Guild, have been
instructed to precede him, taking the sealed commission
with them, in accordance with the usual practice of such
political missions. What Ham. does not know is that
orders have already been issued for his leaving at once,
and that Ros. and Guild, are now to accompany him as
his guards (3. 3. 2-4).

202-10. There's letters.. .meet F i omits. MSH.
p. 28.

204. the mandate Cf. 5. 2. 18 ff.
211. packing A quibble, v. G. Ham. recognises
that the death of Pol. will hasten his departure.
213. good night indeed (Q2) F i 'good night.
Indeed' The F i period brushes away a delicate
point; the 'indeed' echoes 1. 159.
216. to draw... with you i.e. let me finish my con-
versation with you ('foolish prating knave').

217. S.D. F i ' E x i t Hamlet tugging in Polonius.'

4.1.

Rowe, following Q. 1676, introduced this act-
division, which is 'not very happy, for the pause is made
at a time when there is more continuity of action than in
almost any other of the Scenes' (Johnson).

S.D. Q2 'Eenter [sic] King, and Queene, with
Rosencraus and Guyldensterne.' F 1 'Enter King.' The
S.D. in Q 2 is doubly remarkable, seeing that Gertrude
is already 'on' at the end of 3. 4., and that Ros. and
Guild, are brought in to be dismissed at once. Perhaps
some intervening scene or episode has been omitted.
MSH. pp. 38, 91-2.

ai8 NOTES 4.1.

4. Bestow.. .while F i omits, v. head-note. Qz
gives no exit.

7. Mad as the sea Obedient to Ham.'s implied
command at 3. 4. 186-88, the Queen insists upon his
madness for the rest of the play; cf. 5. 1. 278-82.

12-23. O heavy deed etc. The K. gently points out
her unwisdom in 'screening' Ham. after the Play-scene;
cf. note 3. 4. 2-4.

25-6. some ore.. .metals base = a vein of gold in a
mine of base metal, v. G ' ore.'

27. d weep The falsehood testifies to her fidelity.
Cf. Bradley, p. 104 n.

40. [so haply slander] (Capell,Theobald) Q2, F i
omit the half-line, so that we have no clue to what Sh.
wrote. MSH. p. 30.

41-4. Whose whisper... air F 1 omits. MSH. p. 30.
44. the woundless air Cf. 1. 1. 145 'the air in-
vulnerable' and Temp. 3. 3. 63-4.

4. 2.

7. Tell us where 'tis etc. The tone is insolent, to 'the
son of a king.'

11-12. keep your counsel...own i.e. follow your
advice and not keep my own secret. A quibbling retort
to RQS.'S rudeness, v. G. 'counsel.'

12. replication A legal term = an answer to a charge
(v. N.E.D. 2).

15-20. that soaks up...dry again The notion of
sycophants and extortioners as a monarch's sponges,
which derives from Suetonius (Fespasian, c. 16), is a
commonplace of the time; v. Marston, Scourge of
Villainy (1599), vii. 58-60; Webster, Duch. o/Malfi,
3. 2. 249-51, etc. (v. Furness). Vespasian deliberately
bestowed high office upon rapacious persons 'so that the
common talk was he used them as sponges, letting them
soak when they were dry and squeezing them out again
when they were wet'

4.2. N O T E S 219

16. his authorities A hint that they were taking too
much upon them.

17. like an apple (Q2) F 1 'like an Ape,' Qx 'as an
Ape doth nuttes.' £>2 gives perfectly good sense. Sh. is
thinking, not of apes, but of the groundlings gnawing or
sucking little pippins in the theatre; cf. Hen. Fill,
5. 4. 63-4. MSH. p. 72.

22-3. a knavish speech.. .foolish ear Cf. a similar
hit at 3. 2. 337. Ham. means, of course, that his speech
is foolish and Ros. knavish.

26-7. The body is with the king, etc. One of Ham.'s
riddling quibbles, like 'A little more than kin, etc.,'
intended prob. to set the audience guessing. I interpret:
the body, i.e. Polonius, is in the next world with the
king, my father, but the other king, my uncle, has not
yet joined him there. The reference to Ps. cxliv. 4
(v. next note) and the drift of Ham.'s remarks in 4. 3.
bear this out.

27-9. a thing... Of nothing Cf. Ps. cxliv. 4 (Prayer
Book) 'Man is like a thing v£ nought, his time passeth
away like a shadow.' Ham. at once insults the K. and
hints that his days are numbered, v. Introd. pp. xl-xli.

29-30. Hide fox... after The cry in some game
like 'hide and seek'; cf. 'the hid-fox' {Ado, 2. 3. 41),
and 'All hid, all hid, an old infant play' (L.L.L. 4. 3.
76). The 'fox' is Pol., and Ham. runs off the stage as he
speaks.

4-3-
S.D. Q2 'Enter King, and two or three.' The 'two
or three' are, I take it, the K.'s 'wisest friends' (4.1. 38).
4. distracted multitude = mobile vulgus, v. G.
'distracted.'
6. scourge i.e. punishment.
9. Deliberate pause The delay in calling Ham. to
account for Pol.'s murder must seem the result of policy,
not panic.

220 N O T E S 4-3-

I I . S.D. Qz 'Enter Rosencraus and all the rest.'
15. Ho... the lord (Q2) F i 'Hoa, Guildensterne?
Bring in my Lord/
S.D. £>2 'They enter/
19-34. Not where he eats.. .yourself An elaboration
of 'The body is with the king, but the king is not (yet)
with the body' at 4. 2. 26-7.
20. convocation of politic worms Prob. a glance at
the Diet of Worms (Singer); cf. 'emperor for diet.'
'Politic worms' is a pregnant phrase, 'politic' suggesting
craftiness and 'worm' an insidious prying into another's
secrets. Brandes {Will. Shak. p. 354) quotes Florio's
Montaigne, ii. 12 'The heart and life of a mighty and
triumphant Emperor, is but the break-fast of a Seelylittle
Worm.'

23-4. variable service = different courses, v. G.
25-=7. Alas.. .thatworm F 1 omits. MSH. p. 23.
30. progress = state journey, v. G.
35-6. nose him.. .lobby Perhaps derived from the
Belleforest story in which the body of the spy, killed in
the Queen's closet, is cut up into pieces by Hamblet and
'then cast.. .into an open vaulte or privie, that so it mighte
serve for foode to the hogges' (Gollancz, Sources of
Hamlet, pp. 207, 229). The 'politic worms' play the
part of the 'hogges.'

45. Hamlet. For JSngland. (Q2) F1 adds a query,
and mod. edd. print an exclamation mark. But Ham.
is not surprised at 'this sudden sending him away'; he
accepts it as a matter of course (cf. 'Good'), which is
far more effective, and takes the K. aback.

47. / see a cherub etc. Cf. 3. 4. 202-209. The
Cherubim were the watchmen or sentinels of Heaven,
and therefore endowed with the keenest vision; cf. M.F.
5.1.63 'the young-eyed cherubins'; Macb. 1.7. 22-4;
Trail. 3. 2. 74-5; Par. Lost, iv. 778-80, xi. 128;
/ / Penseroso, 54 'The Cherub Contemplation'
(Verity).

4-3. N O T E S 221

61. coldly set = undervalue,lightlyregard. v. G.'set.'
63. congruing (Q2) Fi 'coniuring.' MSH. p. 60.

4.4.

Q-66. Good sir.. .nothing worth FI omits. MSH.

Pp. 3°-i-
18.* tf //#/<? patch ofground From July 2, 1601 till

the spring of 1602 the sand-dunes of Ostend were
valiantly defended against the Spaniards in many battles
and with great loss of life by an English force under
Sir Francis Vere, which returned home on March 18.
The siege actually continued until Sept. 1604, but the
London public would only be interested in the earlier
stages. There can be little doubt that Sh. is here alluding
to these events, which points to the late summer or autumn
of 1601 as the date for Hamlet, as we have it in Q2.
v. G. B. Harrison, Last Elizabethan Journal, pp. 190—
270 and Sh. at Work, pp. 279-81. The earliest news-
pamphlet on Ostend was entered in the Stat. Reg. on
Aug. 5,1601, v. A. W. Pollard, Short Title Catalogue,
Ostend.

26. strawI Qz 'straw,'
27-9. This is ih'imposthume... dies Nashe expresses
a similar idea in Pierce Penilesse (McKerrow's Nashe,
i. 211), 'There is a certaine waste of the people for
whome there is no vse, but warre.. .if the affkyres of
the State be such, as cannot exhale all these corrupt
excrements.' Cf. also 'Sedition is an aposteam, which,
when it breaketh inwardly, putteth the state in great
danger of recovery' (Sir John Cheke, quoted in Ben
Jonson's English Grammar, ch. iii).
40-1. some craven scruple.. .th'event Cf. 3.3.75 ff.
event— consequence.
53—6- Rightly to begreat.. .at the stake i.e. Fighting
for trifles is mere pugnacity, not greatness; but it is great-
ness tofightinstantly and for a trifle when honour is at
stake (after Furness).

222 N O T E S 4.4.

63. Whereon.. .try the cause i.e. The plot did not
even afford room for the contending forces to give battle.

64-5. not tomb enough etc. Perhaps suggested by the
factthatVerefor sometime occupied an old churchyard
outside Ostend, v. note 1. 18, and Harrison, Journal,
pp. 191-92.

4.5.

The interval of time between 4.4. and 4. 5. has been
variously estimated at 'a week' and 'two months.' It is
most improbable that Sh. made any estimate himself.

6. Spurns enviously at straws i.e.' Conceives hatred of
the most trivial and innocent things' (Clar.). v. G.
'enviously.'

16. Let her come in Q2 assigns this to 'Hora.';
MSH.p. 189.

17-20. lTo my sick soul., .spilt? Q2 marks the
lines with inverted commas to signify 'sentences'; cf.
note 1. 3. 36-42. The aside accounts for the Queen's
reluctance to see Oph. and gives us the only glimpse of
her real state of mind after Ham.'s departure to England.
v. G. 'toy,' 'jealousy,' 'spill'; 'artless jealousy' may be
rendered 'uncontrollable suspicion.'

20. S.D. Q2 'Enter Ophelia,' F i 'Enter Ophelia
distracted,' Q 1 'Enter Ofelia playing on a Lute, and her
haire downe singing.' Cf. note 3.4. 102 S.D.

23-6. How should I etc. This first stanza was not
likely to ease the Queen's 'sick soul.' None of OpL's
ballad-snatches, except that at 1.186, are known else-
where.

25-6. cockle hat...shoon The garb of a pilgrim
assumed by the conventional lover sworn to worship at
the shrine of his 'saint'; cf. Rom. 1. 5. 95-112.

36. Larded all with (Qz) F i 'Larded with'—
which all edd. follow. But Sh. gives Oph. stumbling
verse in this stanza to exhibit the wandering of her mind;
cf. next note.

4-5 N O T E S 223

37 did not go (£)2, F i , Q i ) Pope omitted'not'
and most edd. follow, which 'seems rash.. .lest Sh. may
have meant a distracted allusion to the "obscure burial"
(1. 211) of Pol.' (Dowden). The unmetrical 'not'
would direct the attention of the audience to her
wandering.

40-1. Well.. .a baker's daughter i.e. Well, thank
you; I am.transformed,butnotintoan owllikethe baker's
daughter. The allusion is to a folk-tale, ace. to Douce
current in Gloucestershire, in which Jesus asks for bread
at a shop, and is given short weight by the baker's
daughter, for which she is changed into an owl. For
a recent treatment of the story in verse, v. The Fleeting
by Walter de la Mare.

God dild you ( F i ) Q2 'good dild you.'
42. God be at your table! Prob. a form of salutation
by a guest before partaking of hospitality; but connected,
as Verity notes, in OpL's distraught mind with the
inhospitality of the baker's daughter to God.
43. Conceit upon her father The K. refers to the
general drift of Oph.'s remarks. Cf. 11. 74-5 below.
46-65. To-morrow is Saint Valentines day etc. 'This
song alludes to the custom of the first girl seen by a man
on the morning ofthis day being considered his Valentine,
or true-love' (Halliwell). Its immodesty is attributed by
most commentators to the influence of madness.

50. clo'es Q2 'close,' F i 'clothes.'
63. (He answers) F i omits. Cf. notel. 167 below.
68. they would lay (Q2) F I ' t h e y should lay.'
71-2. Good night (Fi) Q2 'God night.' Cf. notes
11. 40-1 above and 2. 2. 182.
74-6. 0, this.. .Gertrude Q2 prints this as prose;
F i regularises but omits 'and now behold.' M S H .
p. 218.
74-5. it springs.. .death i.e. from Ham.'s violence.
The K. never loses an opportunity with the Queen of
stressing the danger of her son being at large.

224 N O T E S 4.5.

77-8. spies.. .battalions As an army advances, the
spies come first and the battalions follow.

82-3. death—and...him—poor Q2 'death: and
...him: poore'

91-2. Wherein necessity... arraign i.e. In which the
speakers, gravelled for other matter, are compelled to
attack me.

93. In ear and ear Suggesting a chain of whisperers.
96. Attend! F I and mod. edd. omit. MSH. p. 261.
100. impiteous Qz 'impitious,' F i 'impittious.'
V. G. Most edd. follow F 2 'impetuous.' N.E.D. gives
the two forms as doublets, but notes that the older one
'suggests association with "piteous."' It seems best to
retain SL's sp. MSH. pp. 287-88.
105. The ratifiers.. .word This has puzzled all,
because they have not seen that 'word' (v. G.), as often
elsewhere in SL, means 'promise, pledge, undertaking.'

118-19. brands.. .brows Cf. note 3. 4. 43.
brows (Grant White) Q2, F i 'browe.' MSH.
pp. 299-300.
124.* can but peep.. .would i.e. dare not openly
show its true aims.
125. his will= its will.
137. world's (Pope) £>2 'worlds,' F i 'world.'
Clar. suggests that 'worlds' refers back to 'both the
worlds' (1. 134), but while 'both the worlds' conforms
well enough with Eliz. cosmology, 'all the worlds'
would strike too modern a note.

141. father (Q2) F i 'Fathers death'—which most
edd. follow, unnecessarily. MSH. p. 254.

142. sweepstake (Johnson) Q2, F i 'soopstake/
Q i 'Swoop-stake-like.' Most edd. read 'swoopstake.'
MSH. pp. 287-88.

151. 'pear (Johnson) Q 2 'peare,'Fi 'pierce.' Day
does not pierce the eye; it reveals everything to its gaze,
as the K. offers to do with Laer. v. G. 'level/ MSH.
pp.275-76.

4.5. N O T E S 225

153. S.D. Q2, F i 'Enter Ophelia.' Qx 'Enter
Ofelia as before.' Rowe 'Enter Ophelia, fantastically
drest with Straws and Flowers.' Delius and Poel (Sh. in
the Theatre, p. 172) suggest that the flowers spoken of
in 11. 174-83 are imaginary.

154.* O heat etc. The 'bravery' of Laer.'s grief is as
evident in this scene as at the funeral later.

161-63. Nature.. .it loves (F1) Q2 omits. MSH.
pp. 96-7. A high-flown sentimental way of saying that
Oph.'s sanity has followed Pol. to the grave. No one
seems to have noticed that 'nature' here = natural or
filial affection (cf. Introd. p. xxxiii; I. 5. 81; 3. 2. 396;
5.2. 229, 242 and 2 Hen. IV, 4. 5. 39 'nature, love and
filial tenderness'). To paraphrase: Filial love is exquisite
in its working, and will sacrifice its most precious
possession as a proof ofits affection for the dear departed,
v. G. 'fine,' 'instance.'

167. Fare.. .dove! Q2, F1 do not distinguish this
from the song; Capell first printed it as if it were an
observation on the part of Oph., addressed to Laer. as
she recognises his presence. MSH. pp. 227—28.

170-71. You must sing.. .adown-a Again Q2, F i
make no distinction in type between speech and song,
and there have been many attempts to differentiate them.
I take it that Oph., addressing Laer., bids him sing
'adown, adown' as the refrain to her song, if he indeed
agrees that Pol. is 'adown,' i.e. fallen low. This inter-
pretation leads on to 'the wheel' in 1. 171. MSH.
pp. 228-29.

171. 0, how the wheel becomes it! Variously ex-
plained as referring to the refrain (v. N.E.D. 'wheel'
16), or to the spinning-wheel, as an accompaniment to
ballad-song; cf. Tw. Nt. 2. 4. 45. The former fits the
context well, but I suggest that Oph. is also thinking of
Fortune's wheel which has brought the leading statesman
of Denmark low 'adown'; if so 'becomes it' means that
a wheel (= refrain) corresponds well enough with his

226 N O T E S 4-5.

condition. Technically 'wheel' = a stanza of at least
4 lines, but it might apparently be used vaguely for any
kind of refrain or chorus, v. J. Schipper, Hist, of Eng.
Vers. pp. 280 ff.

172. the false steward.. .daughter The reference
has not been traced in folk-tale or ballad. It seems to
refer back to the song at 11. 46-65.

174-83. There's rosemary.. .some violets Each
flower has its meaning and is presented to an appropriate
person. Rosemary — remembrance, used both at wed-
dings and funerals (cf. Rom. 4. 5.79; Wint. 4.4.74-6),
she gives to Laer. Pansies = thought, esp. love-thoughts,
she keeps, I think, for herself. Fennel ==flatteryand
columbines = cuckoldry (from their horned shape) were
appropriate to the K. Rue = sorrow (for herself) and
repentance (for the Queen); herb of grace is another
name for 'rue,' though actually with no religious
significance. Daisy = dissembling (cf. Greene, %jfip
for an upstart courtier, 'Next them grewe the dessem-
bling daisie, to warne such light of loue wenches not to
trust euery faire promise that such amorous batchelers
make them'), which she would place next the 'pansies'
in her own bosom as a warning. Violets = faithfulness;
these she cannot give to anyone, as there are no more left
in the world. Some suppose she addresses herself to
Hor. here; but he is not on in this scene, (v. Furness for
much of the material of this note.)

182. with a difference i.e. for a different reason
(v. 'Rue' in previous note), with a quibble on
'difference,' the heraldic term. v. G.

186. For bonny sweet Robin etc. From a well-known
ballad, mentioned again as sung by the mad girl in
Two Noble Kinsmen (4. 1. 134).

187. Thought.. .passion — melancholy.. .suffering,
v. G.

199.* And of.. .souls 'The common conclusion to
many.. .monumental inscriptions' (Steevens).

4-5. N O T E S 227

213. No trophy.. .bones 'When a man of good
family was buried in a church it was usual to hang his
casque, sword and coat armour in its tinctures over his
tomb, special funeral armour often being made for the
purpose,' Sh. Eng. ii. 150.

4.6*

S.D. There seems no good reason why edd. should
locate Scenes 6 and 7 in different 'rooms in the castle'
as following Capell they have commonly done.

15. him.. .Ere Q2 'him: Ere'
26. too lightfor the bore The size of the bore deter-
mines the weight of the projectile.
31. give you way ( F i ) Q2 'will you way.' Most
edd. read 'make you way' (Q4); v. MSH. p. 293, and
G. 'give way.'

4.7.
S.D. Readers ask: does the previous scene allow time
enough to the K. to convince Laer. ? Hardly if Laer.
had first to 'make choice' among his 'wisest friends'
(4. 5. 203). An audience might be relied upon to forget
the point and would be untroubled by such problems.
5. Pursued my life v. note 3. 2. 243.
7. crimeful{¥i) £>2 'criminall' MSH.pp. 163-4,
280.
8. greatness (Q 2) F1 omits and mod. edd. follow to
avoid an alexandrine, though, as Clar. observes, 'the next
line is an alexandrine also.'
14. conjunctive Dowden notes that this word (v. G.
and also 'sphere') 'seems to have suggested the line that
follows.'
20. the spring.. .stone Harrison's Description of
England (ed. Furnivall, p. 349) states that the baths of
King's Newnham, Warwickshire, turn wood into stone
(Dowden).
21. Convert.. .graces i.e. regard his fetters (had We
put him under arrest) as an honour to him. Cf.4.3. 3-7.

228 N O T E S 4.7.

22. loud a wind Steevens quotes Ascham's Toxo-
fMlus, 1598 (ed. Arber, p. 151) 'Weake bowes, and
lyghte shaftes can not stande in a rough wynde.'

27. if praises.. .again = if I may praise her as she
once was.

37. These (Q2) F 1 'This.' Cf. 1.41 'you shall hear
them.' The term 'letters' was often used with a sing,
meaning. Qz misprints the second 'these' as 'this.'
MSH. p. 242.

50. Naked v. G.
52. devise (Q2) F i 'aduise'—which all edd. read,
v. G. and MSH. p. 278.
57. As how... otherwise? i.e. He was safely shipped
off; how can he have returned? And yet here is his
letter in my hand!
67-80. My lord, I toill...graveness F i omits.
MSH. p. 31.
74-6. in my regard... ofyouth The K. is ofthe old-
fashioned school which disliked the new-fangled French
or Italian rapier play; cf. note 5. 2. 222 S.D. and Silver,
pp. ix-x.
80. health = prosperity, v. G.
83. can well — are most expert.
88-9. That I...he did i.e. That I could never
have imagined the 'tricks and shapes' (v. G.) he per-
formed.
89. A Norman The reputation of Normandy for
horse-breedingand horsemanship stood high (v. Sh. Eng.
ii. 411).
91. Lamord (Q2) F i 'Lamound.' Most read
'Lamond'; Malone conjectures 'Lamode,' Grant White
'Lamont.' Possibly'Le Monte'was intended. Dowden
follows Q2, 'having noticed in Cotgrave "Mords, a bitt
of a horse.'" I agree with Verity that some personal
allusion is prob., more esp. as the whole passage (80-93)
'does not arise naturally out of a context in which the
accomplishment dwelt on is fencing, not horsemanship.'

4.7. N O T E S 229

Sh.'s patron, the Earl of Southampton, was created
Master of his Horse by Essex in 1599, while in Ireland;
and this may be the point of the allusion. 'The brooch
indeed And gem of all the nation' would suit well with
Southampton's reputation at this period.

94. confession i.e. 'the unwilling acknowledgment
by a Frenchman of a Dane's superiority' (Dowden).

96. art and exercise = skilful exercise.
99-101. the scrimers.. .opposed them F l omits.
MSH. p. 31. For 'motion' v. G.
110-22. But that I know.. .easing The Player
King's speech (3. 2. 185-214) expands this notion;
Son. 116 contradicts it.
n o . begun by time = created by circumstance. Cf.
note 3. 4. 107.
113-22. There lives.. .by easing F1 omits. MSH.

116-22. plurisy.. .ulcer Sh. here indulges in an
elaborate quibble, v. Introd. p. xxxvii.

117-22. That we would do...easing As many have
noted, these words point the whole moral of Hamlet,
and are a comment (unconscious on Claud.'s part, but
intentional on Sh.'s) upon Ham.'s character, as indeed
much of the action in Act 4 is likewise. Cf. Introd.
p. Ixi.

121. spendthrift sigh Sighing was .supposed to drain
the blood; cf. M.N.D. 3. 2. 97.

125. To cut his throat i'th church An unconscious
reflexion upon Ham.'s conduct in the Prayer-scene; cf.
note 11. 117-22 above.

128. keep close within your chamber 'And now the
K. has but one anxiety—to prevent the young men
meeting before the fencing match. For who can tell
what Ham. might say in his defence, or how enchant-
ing his tongue might prove?' (Bradley, p. 143).

135-37. thefoils.. .unbated v. note 5. 2. 222 S.D.
137. a pass of practice A quibble: (a) a bout for

230 N O T E S 4.%

exercise, (J>) a treacherous thrust; cf. 1. 66 above,
note 5. 2. 299 and G. 'practice.'

139-40. anoint...unction With a poss. quibble
upon extreme unction: v. G.

143-4. Collected...moon Herbs were thought to be
more efficacious if gathered by moonlight.

149.* / / us to our shape 'i.e. mould our plans to suit
our ends.

158. preferred (Qz) F 1 'prepar'd'—which most
mod. edd. read. MSH. p. 278.

161. But stay, what noise? (£) 2) F I omits and reads
instead 'How now, sweet queen'—which most edd.
follow although some adopt both readings. Q1 supports
F I by reading 'How now Gertred.' MSH. pp. 246-7.

165-82. There is a willow etc. C. C. Stopes and
E. I. Fripp conjecture that Sh. may have drawn upon
memories of the drowning of 'Katherine Hamlett
spinster,' in the Avon on Dec. 17,1579/80 (cf. Fripp,
Minutes of the Corp. of Stratford, iii. 50), but the time
ofyear makes it impossible for 'the setting' to have been
drawn upon also, as Chambers {Will. Shak. i. 425)
seems to suggest. Cf. also Harrison, Sh. at Work,
pp. 272-73.

165. askant Q 2 'ascaunt/Fi 'aslant'—which most
mod. edd. read. MSH. p. 278.

167. Therewith.. .make (£> 2) F I 'There with...
come'—which mod. edd. read, and so miss the fact that
the garland was made of willow, the emblem of dis-
consolate love; cf. Oth. 4. 3. 51 'Sing all a green willow
must be my garland.' MSH. p. 276.

171. crownet Q2 'cronet,' F i 'coronet' Cf.
A. fcf C. 5. 2. 91.

176. lauds (Q2) F 1 , Cj 1 'tunes'—which nearly all
edd.read. MSH.pp.71-2. In'snatchesof oldlauds'Sh.
seems to refer to the laude or vernacular hymns of praise
sung by wandering bands or guilds of singers in Italy
from 13th to 16th c , though it is not clear that they were
ever the fashion in England (v. A. W. Pollard, Old

4-7. N O T E S 231

Picture Books, pp. 15-22). Perhaps Sh. also had in
mind Pss. cxlviii-cl, the psalms of praise sung at the
service of Lauds. Oph. dies crowned with flowers and
singing hymns of praise to God.

188. The woman will be out i.e. When these tears are
shed I shall have got rid of the woman in me. Cf. 'And
all my mother came into mine eyes,' Hen. V, 4. 6. 31.

190. douts (Knight) F i 'doubts,' Q2 'drownes,'
MSH. pp. 51, 137. Cf. Hen. F, 4. 2.11 (F1) 'doubt'
(= dout), and above note 1. 4. 37.

5.1.

1-2. when she (Qz) F i ' t h a t . '
4. straight — immediately (with a quibble on
'narrow').
6-7. unless.. .her own defence He is thinking of the
law of homicide.
8. found so i.e. by the 'crowner.'
9. se offendendo The sexton means 'se defendendo,'
i.e. the verdict in justifiable homicide (unless he is
making a shot at 'felo de se').
10-20. if I drown myself.. .his own life An echo
of the famous case of Hales v. Petit, heard 1554, of
which reports were pub. in 1571, 1578, and which
settled for the period the law as regards suicide, re-
cognising it as homicide and so distinct from some kind
of felony for which there was a forfeiture. Sir James
Hales, the suicide, was a Common Law judge, and
consequently the case would be noteworthy on that
score; in any event it presents some striking parallels
with the words of the sexton, e.g. (i) Hales committed
suicide by walking into a fiver at Canterbury (cf. 'if the
man go to this water' etc.). (ii) The counsel for the
defence argued that

the act of self destruction consists of three parts. The first
is the imagination, which is a reflection or meditation of the
man's mind whether or no it be convenient to destroy
himself and in what way it may be done; the second is the

23* N O T E S 5.1.

resolution, which is the determination of the mind to destroy
himself and to do it in this or that particular way; the third
is the perfection, which is the execution of what the mind
has resolved to do. And this perfection consists of two parts,
viz. the beginning and the end. The beginning is the doing
of the act which causes the death, and the end is the death,
which is only a sequel of the act.

(iii) There was much discussion as to whether Hales
was the 'agent' or the 'patient,' in other words whether
he went to the water or the water came to him; and the
verdict was:

Sir James Hales was dead.. And how came he by his
death? It may be answered by drowning. And who
drowned him? Sir James Hales. And when did he drown
him? In his lifetime. So that Sir James Hales being alive
caused Sir James Hales to die, the act of the living was the
death of the dead man. And for this offence it is reasonable
to punish the living man, who committed the offence, and
not the dead man.

These parallels were first noted by Sir John Hawkins,
the friend of Dr Johnson (v. Furness). The same argu-
ments are likely to have been repeated at any inquest
upon a drowned person and so might come to Sh.'s
knowledge. Cf. Sir D. Plunket Barton, Links between
Sh. and the Law, 1929, pp. 51-4, and The Hist, of the
Common Law, 1934, pp. 307-8, by Dr Harold Potter,
to whom I am-indebted for thefirsthalf of this note.

12. argal A corruption of 'ergo'; cf. 'argo,'
2 Ben. VI, 4.2. 31, and SL's 'Addition' to Sir Thomas
More, 1. 5, and v. R. W. Chambers in M.L.R. xxvi.
256-57.

28-9. even-Christen (Q2) F i 'euen Christian.'
v. G. and cf. Chaucer, Persones Tale, 24 'of his neighe-
bore, that is to seyn, of his evene-cristene.' Here used
collectively. MSH. pp. 276-77.

34-7. Why, he had.,.without arms? (Fi) Q2
omits. MSH. p. 97.

5.1. N O T E S 233

38-9. confess thyself-—'and be hanged' is the rest of
the sentence.

43. thatframe v. G. 'frame.' The Clown quibbles.
52. unyoke 'after this great effort you may unharness
the team of your wit' (Dowden).

60. get thee to Yaughan, andfetch Qz 'getthee in,
and fetch,' F I 'get thee to Yaughan, fetch.' Nicholson
suggested that 'Yaughan' was the name of the keeper
of a tavern near the Globe, which he identified with
'deaf John's' dark alehouse spoken of in Jonson's
Alchemist, 1. 1. This, which is plausible prima facie,
assumes that mine host was a German and that
'Yaughan' was an attempt to give a Welsh form to
'Johan' (or 'Yohan' as Jonson renders the name of a
German Jew in E.M.O. 5.6.48). But it is not necessary
to bring in a German at all, seeing that 'Johan' is also
the Danish for John, and that if 'deaf John's' was the
house intended, Sh. would naturally wish to translate it
to Elsinore, just as he gives the Danish name Yorick to
the K.'s jester, and Osric to the fop. Sh. prob. spelt it
'Yohan' as Jonson did, for the form 'Yaughan' belongs
to the corrupt F l text, while the notion quoted by
Furness that it can be a Welsh name is apparently quite
unfounded. That no name appears in Q2 may be set
down to omission on the part of the compositor.
MSH. pp. 259-60.

S.D. £)2 'Enter Hamlet and Horatio.' (at 1. 64)
F i 'Enter Hamlet and Horatio a farre off.' (at 1. 55).
It is clear from Ham.'s first words that they have over-
heard the song. Cf. note 3. 2. 290 S.D. and MSH.
p. 184. 'Clad as a sailor' is a suggestion by Mr William
Poel (v. Sh. in the Theatre, pp. 173-74), quoting
'naked (4. 7. 44) and pointing out that the Sexton
does not recognise him and. that he has to declare himself
atl. 251.

61-4. In youth when I etc. The three stanzas of the
sexton's song are a blundering and half-remembered